In rotary internal combustion engines of the Wankel type, such as exemplified in the aforesaid Wankel et al patent, the engine is provided with a housing or casing within which a rotor is eccentrically supported for planetating rotation relative to the housing. It is necessary in such engines to lubricate the inner housing wall surfaces, particularly the inner trochoidal surface which defines with the other wall surfaces the housing cavity within which the rotor rotates, the inner trochoidal surface being a surface against which bear apex seals carried at the apex portions of the rotor. To minimize frictional wear of the apex seals and the inner trochoidal surface and to provide improved sealing effectiveness, various lubricating systems have been devised such as exemplified in the following U.S. patents:
Scherenberg U.S. Pat. No. 3,193,053 PA1 Bentele U.S. Pat. No. 3,245,386 PA1 Bensinger et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,420,214 PA1 King et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,771,903 PA1 Lamm U.S. Pat. No. 3,809,021 PA1 King U.S. Pat. No. 3,811,806 PA1 Casey U.S. Pat. No. 3,814,555 PA1 Dobler U.S. Pat. No. 3,844,691 PA1 Hackbarth U.S. Pat. No. 3,911,870 PA1 Loyd, Jr. U.S. Pat. No. 3,990,818
In each of these patented systems it is necessary to accurately control the amount of lubricant in accordance with varying engine operating requirements. None of these systems has satisfactorily accomplished this control for both speed and load of the engine.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a lubricant metering system for a rotary internal combustion engine which accurately controls lubricant flow automatically in accordance with engine speed and load. Another object of the present invention is to provide a lubricant metering system for a rotary internal combustion engine which is capable of accurately controlling small quantities of lubricating oil. A still further object of this invention is to provide a lubricant metering system for a rotary internal combustion engine which is capable of controlling lubricant flow under varying engine speed and load conditions and at the same time is relatively simple in construction and inexpensive to fabricate.